Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

Do you leave the top on when you put your garbage cans out the night before pickup? Is your address written on it somewhere?

DH left the top on our can when he put the garbage out one morning and now it's gone. I looked all around, thinking maybe it was thrown somewhere. I can only assume that the garbage men didn't look and just dumped the top and all the garbage in the back of the truck.

At first I thought - DH's fault for leaving it on. But I drove by at least 40 houses this morning and 3/4 of them had the tops on their cans.

Now I'm questioning if I should tip them for Christmas. They should give me money for making me buy a new can just for another top!

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

I always leave the top on (we have the type of can with the locking side latch thingies). And we have our house # and street written in big gold letters on the side.

Maybe the top blew down the block? It was super windy the other day and I saw people's cans and recycle bins all over the street.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

we leave out tops on the cans and *knock on wood* havent lost one yet!!



Maybe one of your neighbors picked it up

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We always leave the tops on and never had a problem.

The only time we had an issue with our garbage men was when a friend of ours was doing work on our house. He had his company van parked at the end of our driveway and had a few things pulled out from the back of the van.
Well he must have placed his wet-vac to close to the edge of the street and the garbage men thought it was trash and threw it in the truck

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

we use to leave the tops on but then one day it apparantly got ran over So now, I never put the top out. We don't have our numbers on them either.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We leave the tops on, and we have our house # on one of the cans. Never got around to putting it on the other two.....

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

I can't believe you are all allowed to leave your tops on! We received a letter that the garbage pails at the curb are NOT to have the lid on them at all. (Guess it slows down the pick up process- ). Also...if you have the cans with the attached lid (hinged), you can get a fine as many collectors are getting injured.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We leave the top on (due to birds, winds, etc), and both the top and the bottom have a big BLACK house number on it in case it rolls away.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

we leave the top on most of the time due to the squirrels, possible raccoons and wind. and we put the numbers of the house on the lid and pail. our neighbors decided to get the exact same garbage pail as us.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We have Rubbermaid Brutes, where the lid is attached:

but I know some carting/sanitation companies don't like or allow them.

Very rarely do our cans end up near someone else's property, so we don't have our # on them, but DH and I have discussed painting the # inside the lid as opposed to the outside of the container/lid.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

we don't leave the tops on, we dont want them to go missing.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

WE leave the tops on! With all the smelly dirty diapers in our trash, it's necessary Never lost a cover. And we don;t have ours labeled with out house numbers.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

tops on

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We still have the old garbage cans & no lids.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

i don't put the tops on them when I put the pails out or else I have to chase them.

ours aren't numbered either.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We put ours out with the top on. Thankfully it hasn't been a problem. I'd just hate to not have the top on, see it get knocked over, and then have garbage everywhere.

I'd like to put our house # on them, it's on our To-Do list.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

No lids, not numbered.

I think we have only one lid to our 8 cans.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

I never thought of not putting the tops on. Between vermin and wind, I'd think it would be the better choice. I don't have my addy on them but I know I should do it. One day our one lid was missing and that's how we learned our neighbor has the same cans, same color. They did have one of our lids and we received it back from them but if it came down to not knowing who it belongs to, the address on it would clear it up.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

We don't leave the tops on and we don't have numbers.
We used to leave the tops on, then one morning I had to go searching for the top and I found it five houses away,up their driveway...I knew it was mine cuz we are the only ones with that type of pail.

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

Our tops are on and they are numbered..:)

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

If you numbered them what do you use...Paint???

Just wondering..that may be a dumb question but I was wondering

Re: Garbage cans - top on or off? Numbered?

Posted by joenick


I have no clue. My only guess is that when they lift the pails, the hinged lids flip closed onto their fingers.